Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT Shares Sold by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC lessened its position in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) by 7.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,351 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 11,585 shares during the period. Fortinet makes up about 1.0% of Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Fortinet were worth $24,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Puff Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fortinet by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Puff Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Columbus Macro LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 1.9% in the third quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 1.9% in the third quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Kintegral Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Fortinet by 0.6% during the third quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 12,648 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in Fortinet by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Fortinet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies expects Fortinet’s third-quarter product revenue growth to reach roughly 50% year over year, well above the 31% consensus forecast. The broker cited favorable industry checks, price increases and accelerated firewall replacement activity. Fortinet growth outlook for 2027 becomes key test for investors, says Jefferies
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are looking for another strong quarterly result, with analysts expecting double-digit year-over-year EPS growth. Fortinet’s ability to sustain product growth into fiscal 2027 will be the central focus of the earnings outlook. What to Expect From Fortinet’s Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Recent bullish positioning, including a previously raised $200 price target, reflects expectations for continued cybersecurity spending and AI-related demand. Fortinet’s hardware-software combination was also highlighted as a potential long-term competitive advantage. Fortinet versus Cisco and Palo Alto Networks
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies maintained a “hold” rating, emphasizing that forward guidance for 2027 matters more than simply beating near-term estimates. Fortinet trades at a premium valuation, increasing the importance of durable growth and strong cash generation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fortinet released coordinated security-hardening updates for multiple products, which may have improved sentiment amid broader cybersecurity concerns, although the updates are not a major direct earnings catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target from $118 to $140 but retained an “underweight” rating, implying substantial downside from recent trading levels. JPMorgan Fortinet rating
• Negative Sentiment: Arete Research reportedly downgraded Fortinet to “sell,” adding to concerns that the stock’s elevated valuation already discounts much of its expected growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity shows executives made no open-market purchases and sold shares during the past six months, a potentially cautionary signal, though such sales may reflect scheduled diversification.

Fortinet Stock Up 4.1%

FTNT opened at $179.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $132.06 billion, a PE ratio of 63.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Fortinet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.55 and a 52 week high of $197.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.08.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.15. Fortinet had a return on equity of 191.54% and a net margin of 28.17%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. Fortinet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.410-3.470 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.830-0.870 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Fortinet

In other Fortinet news, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total transaction of $26,266,662.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,972,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,616,486,029.52. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO John Whittle sold 53,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.44, for a total transaction of $8,911,425.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 96,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,045,529.28. The trade was a 35.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 221,303 shares of company stock valued at $36,164,034. Corporate insiders own 17.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FTNT shares. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $118.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Fortinet from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Fortinet from $115.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortinet currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.36.

About Fortinet

Fortinet, Inc develops cybersecurity products and services designed to protect networks, endpoints, applications, cloud environments and operational technology systems. The company’s portfolio includes next-generation firewalls, secure networking products, endpoint security, web application security, email security, identity and access solutions, and security information and event management tools.

Its product offerings include FortiGate network security appliances and cloud-based firewalls, along with FortiSwitch, FortiAP and FortiExtender solutions for secure connectivity.